The Only One He Ever Loved
by Hallows Searcher
Summary: Everyone believed that Tom Riddle didn't know how to love, including Dumbledore himself. But was that completely true? Because Alice knows a little differently. Here's a story on Tom Riddle's life at Hogwarts - with a little unexpected twist.
1. Prologue

**Hi guys, I'm back with my third story now! I know, I wanted to update sooner with it, but I wanted to make sure this was absolutely perfect before posting it. Anyway, I know it's a little bit of a wacky storyline to it, I hope you guys like it though! This is my first ever multiple-chapter Fanfiction (I've only done one-offs so far), so please go kindly on me, and don't kill me if I don't update very quickly! Reviews and comments would be lovely!**

**J.K. Rowling owns, I only own my own characters.**

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**The only one he ever loved.**

**Prologue**(August 2017)

There weren't many wizards and witches living in Cornwall, and the Grey family certainly felt glad that their neighbour was a witch herself. During the twenty years they'd been living there, she'd been there for them through everything; the ups and downs of their family life, their laughter and smiles, the tears and tantrums, and they felt glad to have her there for them. By now, Amanda and Thomas had been married for twenty one years, and the eldest child, Lucy, was eighteen and had completed her education at Hogwarts that year. The middle children, twins Jessica and Jack, were fourteen, and loved to have fun, especially with each other; and the youngest was twelve-year-old Oliver, who always looked up to his elder siblings.

Their neighbour had been the person who looked after them during the day whilst their parents worked long hours in the Ministry of Magic and St. Mungo's Hospital when they were younger, and even now, she still sometimes cared for them during the summer holidays. She could easily divide her time between her great-grandchildren and her younger neighbours, and gave them equal amounts of time and love. She was very kind and had a big heart, and the children knew how much she loved their company; she had lost her husband only three years ago.

However, the old woman was a very intriguing person to the children. Even though she'd been a constant part of their lives, and was now ninety years old, they believed that she hadn't aged at all, and was still a healthy woman. But, to them, she came from a world that was different to theirs; where girls were taught to be good wives, to take a step back from the front line and let the men have all the glory. She could amuse them for hours with tales of her childhood and education at Hogwarts, which was so different to theirs.

On one bright, summer afternoon, a week before the younger three's return to Hogwarts, the Grey children were relaxing with their neighbour in her garden. They were chatting away about Hogwarts, when Lucy suddenly asked, "How long ago were you at Hogwarts?"

The woman paused to think, then replied, "Almost eighty years ago now. Goodness, listening to you lot talking about it makes me feel like I've barely left."

"Eighty years..." Lucy murmured to herself in awe. Jessica suddenly asked her, "Does that mean you'd have been at school with Lord Voldemort?"

The old woman stuttered in shock. "In Hogwarts with him? What makes you think that?"

"We read a book about him in the library at Hogwarts, and it said that he was at Hogwarts eighty years ago." Jessica watched her neighbour's shocked face carefully, and rushed to add, "I'm sorry if that offended you."

She shook her head, smiling slightly. "It didn't offend me dear, it just surprised me. I've never been asked that before." She paused for a second. "I had been at Hogwarts with ... Voldemort. We were, in fact, in the same year at school."

The children all squealed and gasped in shock. "In the same year? Are you serious? What was he like?" Jack pressed her, full of curiosity.

"Yes, although he was a Slytherin and I was a Ravenclaw. And you probably won't believe me, but he wasn't all that he seemed in school. He was different back then, even quite nice."

The children couldn't believe their ears. "Could you tell us a story about him at school?" Lucy asked, and the children begged her immediately to do so. Their neighbour smiled, and said, "Alright. I happen to know the perfect story to show his nice side." The children snuggled back in their chairs, ready for a good tale, and the old woman travelled back to her school days, to remember the story and repeat it to the eager children.


	2. Chapter 1: A new experience

**Hey guys, this is the next chapter for my story! Sorry that it took a while for me to update, went away for about 12 days, and I really wanted to get this up for you all. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it. This chapter is mostly to introduce everyone to the characters and Alice's relationships with them. More will be revealed about everyone shortly! Please review, would mean the world to me!  
Disclaimer: I only own my characters, JKR owns hers and Harry Potter.**

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**Chapter 1**

As Alice stood on the Hogwarts platform, waiting to board the train that would whisk her off to her sixth year of education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she realised that this time was different to the last times she'd stood at this platform. Normally, as students bustled past her, nobody looked in her direction, and if they happened to, they wouldn't usually acknowledge her. But this time, it seemed as if everyone noticed her – or, at least, the boys were looking at her. Wondering if she had something on her nose, she turned back to her father and nanny, who had accompanied her to the platform, just like every year before that. Her trunk was already in her compartment with the rest of her friends, and she just had to say farewell to the people closest to her heart.

Her nanny smiled at her. "Well, it seems like you'll be having an interesting time at school this year," she remarked with a laugh.

Alice rolled her eyes. "I don't know what you're talking about." She glanced at her father, expecting his usual expressionless look, but he was smiling slightly, showing some sign of amusement at the nanny's comment. "I'm sure that you'll enjoy yourself." His voice was still the same dead, calm voice. Alice sighed inwardly. Noticing children boarding the train, she turned to her nanny first.

"Enjoy yourself this year, dear. Remember to write to me!" Her nanny held her closely in a hug, before releasing her. Alice smiled, and replied, "I'll remember; once a week!" She then turned to her father, the man she had distanced from over the years. "Bye, Dad. Let me know if I can come home during the Christmas holidays." He put an arm lightly around her shoulders, and pulled her against his chest for half a second before releasing her. "Of course, Alice. Take care of yourself, and work hard." He smiled at her, but it wasn't a smile that reached his eyes. Alice returned a weak smile, before dashing over to the train carriage. She waved from the door at her father and nanny, and went to join her friends in their compartment. As she sat with her friends, she didn't look through the window to see if her father had left yet.

Her friends greeted her normally, and then returned to their conversation, as Alice sat opposite them. The train started pulling them from the platform, but as Alice felt the excitement rising inside of her, at the thought of going back to Hogwarts, her mind stayed on the platform. She thought of her father, which wasn't something she usually did; she tried not to think of him as much as possible. The only similarity she knew was between them was their eyes and hair colour, and their sense of humour; the rest of Alice's traits were her mother's. She only knew of their similar sense of humour from her younger years, as she hadn't seen him crack a proper smile or laugh his usual laugh in years.

"Alice? Are you listening?" Her best friend, Belle, asked her, a slight crease between her eyebrows. Belle was a quiet girl, sensitive to everyone's feelings and a great listener, but also loved some fun.

Alice shook her head, a smile lighting up her face. "No, I'm afraid I wasn't. What did I miss?"

"Only what everyone across the platform was talking about!" exclaimed Margaret – who preferred to be called Maggie – who could always be depended on for the latest news of Hogwarts. Alice relaxed slightly, expecting it to be a topic that wouldn't be of much interest to her, but got the shock of her life when Maggie added, "They're all talking about you of course!"

"Me? They're talking about me? But why? Do I have something on my nose?" She began to panic, not wanting to be the laughing stock of the school before the term had even begun.

The two girls laughed at their friend, before Belle soothed her. "Don't worry, there's nothing on your nose."

"So why were they talking about me?" Although slightly comforted by her best friend's words, she still felt incredibly self-conscious. She turned, this time, to Maggie for her answers.

"They were talking about your beautiful transformation." Alice could only gape in surprise. _Beautiful transformation_? Maggie continued. "Honestly, Alice, you seem to have gotten even more beautiful over the summer holidays. All the boys noticed you, and the girls were all talking about you."

Alice laughed loudly to get over her shock. "Me? Are you totally sure about this?"

"Yes, of course! I never get my facts wrong!" _Very true_, Alice silently agreed. "I even saw Robert Macmillan admiring you, and Tom Riddle too!"

Underneath the laughter and surprise, she couldn't help but feel slightly flattered at Maggie's comment. Robert Macmillan, a handsome Ravenclaw in the seventh year, rarely seemed to notice the girls who fawned over him obviously every day, nor the girls who watched and drooled over him from afar, so that was definitely something of a surprise. Tom Riddle was also quite handsome, and was a Slytherin in her year. She didn't see much of him, but he didn't seem to be that mean or cruel. He noticed his fan club, and sometimes, when Alice watched them from a distance, she could've sworn that he talked to them quite angrily. But a fan club must be annoying at the best of times, so Alice could barely blame him.

At that exact moment, a trio of boys entered the compartment, the same trio who completed their group of friends; Joseph Boot, Christopher Bones and Thomas Corner. They were all very close to each other, but Alice found herself able to trust Christopher the most out of the three boys. Thomas, a loud kind boy, and fiercely loyal and protective of his friends, asked, "Who were Robert and Riddle admiring, Maggie? I do hope it wasn't me."

Belle laughed, while Maggie smiled and shook her head. "Not you, Tom. They were admiring Alice because of how beautiful she's gotten over the holidays."

The three boys surveyed her carefully, and Alice squirmed under their watchful eyes. She didn't like to be scrutinized so closely. After some consideration, Joseph finally said, "Hm, I guess I can see what they mean. You have gotten prettier over the holidays."

Christopher gave her an amused smile at his comment – Joseph rarely complimented anyone – gave her a wink, and said "Don't worry; you're still our old Alice Reed." She laughed and grinned at him gratefully.

"Exactly. Though if you need any help telling guys to back off, then just tell me." Thomas gave her a meaningful look as he sat between Belle and Maggie. They all laughed, and Christopher and Joseph sat either side of her. Having had enough attention on her for one day, Alice relaxed and hoped the rest of the journey would be uneventful. She just wanted her train journey to Hogwarts to be the same as it was every year.


	3. Chapter 2: Unwanted attention

**Hey everyone, I'm so sorry that it's taking me so long to update this story! Summer holidays are always busy with me I'm afraid! Hopefully, I'll try to put the next chapter up before Tuesday, because we're going away on our holidays on Tuesday for a week, and then I'm going to Italy almost straight away after! So I'll try to update it again either before Tuesday, or before going to Italy. I'm just trying to do the whole introduction bit as quickly as I can, just one more chapter of this to come, but brings a start on the plot of the story in the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy, please review!  
Disclaimer: Alice, her family, her friends, and all of my other characters are the only things I own.**

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**Chapter 2**

By the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into the Hogsmeade Station, Alice knew she would never forget that train journey. People had continually passed the compartment, and they all seemed intent at staring at her, and most of them had been boys. Granted, Alice knew some of the students very well, and Alice knew they'd only gone past the compartment for a conversation. But she still found the stares extremely annoying. By mid-afternoon, she convinced Thomas to get some of the more frequent visitors to leave them alone, which eased some of the unwanted attention Alice received from then on. However, nothing could stop the teasing she received from her friends all day.

Alice followed Belle onto the platform, joining the swarm of students spilling from the train. When they were all sure that the six of them were off the train, they went to grab a horseless-drawn carriage to take them all to the school. As they walked through the crowds, Alice could still feel students watching her, and people whispering amongst each other. She felt her annoyance growing, and was glad to escape their attention when all six of them clambered into a carriage together.

Maggie was the first to start it off. She gave a tiny, suppressed giggle, and then all five of them burst into laughter. Alice frowned and crossed her arms, which only intensified their laughter. They continued to laugh for a minute or so, and when they quietened down slightly, Alice told them sternly, "It's not that funny."

"It is, actually," Christopher told her with a twinkle in his eyes. "You're getting all this attention over your looks, and yet, you're the last person who'd ever want it. That's why it's so funny."

Alice thought it over a minute, then wailed, "Why does it have to be me?"

"Don't worry about it, Alice. We'll protect you from any slimy old guys. Thomas will make sure of it," Joseph comforted her, and they all laughed again, including Alice. Thomas and Alice made eye contact, and his smiling eyes assured her that he would look after her this year.

"Anyway, we're here now, everyone. We're back at Hogwarts!" Joseph continued, since he was sat by the window. They all cheered as the carriage rolled through the gates, and Hogwarts loomed over them in the darkness. Alice's heart swelled as she looked at it. _I'm back where I belong_.

When the carriage stopped in front of the steps, they all piled out and climbed into the Entrance Hall, melting into the crowds of students. Belle stuck closely to Alice – she had a fear of being separated from her friends in crowds – as they flowed through to the Great Hall. As the full splendour of the Hall hit Alice, she caught her breath. When she walked into the Great Hall at the start of the new school year, she was always blown away. She found the gleaming walls and floors, glinting gold goblets and shining tables beautiful, and she adored the floating candles, friendly ghosts, and enchanted ceiling that just gave it its own unique twist. She always believed that leaving Hogwarts over the summer affected her memory of the school and its beautiful grandness.

Belle and Alice went to join the Ravenclaw table, and settled down with the rest of their friends. Some of the younger members of the house called greetings to the group of friends, as they passed to find their own seats. They weren't extremely popular students, but they were all eye contacts with friends from other houses, and even some cousins, and she gave them a quick smile and wave. She would have plenty of time to talk to them later on in the evening, or during the next week, to catch up with them after the summer.

As the Sorting ceremony began, Alice's attention drifted in and out, and in the middle of applauding the new Ravenclaw members, she day-dreamed over simple things, like the common room, her dormitory and the adventures she had last year. Glancing over at the rest of the crew, Belle, Joseph and Thomas were all raptly watching the Ceremony, Maggie seemed to be daydreaming too, and Christopher wore a look of impatience, and looked longingly at his plate. Suppressing a laugh, she turned back to her daydreams.

Eventually, the last student was sorted into Gryffindor, and the Headmaster, Professor Dippett, came to his feet. Alice respected Dippett immensely, as he was a very fair man. He could think fairly for the school as a whole, but he was also open to students going to talk to him as an individual. She'd often gone to Dippett for advice, and being an old friend of her grandparents, he was also there to comfort her at times.

"I will only say a few words before our feast, as not to keep you all from this delicious food for much longer." Many of the older students chuckled at his words. "I would like to extend a warm welcome to each and every one of you, to another busy year at Hogwarts. If you join us as a new student, I hope that you will settle into your life here very quickly. If you return to us as an old student, I hope that this year will be the same pleasant time you've had in your previous year, or years.

"Last year meant that we all faced challenges and hardships; as individuals, families, friends, houses and as a whole school." Dippett's face clouded over, and the air grew tenser and colder. Everyone still remembered the chaos that happened last year with the Chamber of Secrets. "But, that is in the past. Let us leave the incidents of the last year in the past, and move on from it this year, with happiness, love and laughter. Now, let us begin this new happiness with our start-of-year feast!" Dippett clapped his hands twice, and the food appeared along the five tables.

The noise of the Great Hall immediately swelled, as everyone got excited over the appearance of food. Chris exclaimed loudly, "Finally!" and they all laughed, before grabbing for food to pile high on their plates.


	4. Chapter 3: Unexpected saviour

**Hello! I'm back with another chapter! I did promise that I'd try to update before Monday, and it is Monday today! I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far, I know, it's getting pretty boring with all this boring details that - unfortunately - have to be done. But things will start to move along now. Please, it would mean the world to me if you reviewed, just to let me know how everyone's finding the stories, I absolutely love them! I'm off tomorrow morning to Majorca, and I'll be there for a week, and then I'm only home for one day before going off again, to Florence in Italy this time though! So, I'll try to update it when I'm home, but if not, then please bear with me! I'll work hard on the story while I'm away though! So, enjoy this chapter, and PLEASE REVIEW!  
Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter, I own my characters. Simple really.**

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**Chapter 3**

Alice could always get used to the noise of the Great Hall during feasts, even on the first night of the term. People were talking amongst each other, sharing stories from their summers, telling each other about incidents from the train journey, or getting to know the new students of their houses. Alice even noticed some students moving between the houses, but they were very few; she assumed they were cousins, or family friends, as people didn't normally mingle between the houses.

The group of friends realised that they still had tales to share from their summer holidays, and they mostly laughed at the stories that had filled their summers with laughter and smiles. Thomas had been in the middle of telling them one of his funny tales, which included a crab clinging onto his brother's toe on their day out to the beach, when a pair of hands landed on Alice's shoulders, and a voice in her ear asked, "So, what's all this I've heard about Robert McMillan – scratch that, every boy in Hogwarts – checking you out?"

Alice turned around, and saw the smiling face of her older cousin, Natasha, a seventh-year Ravenclaw. They were related because of their mothers being sisters, and Alice had only managed to fix their relationship by talking to them in Hogwarts. Natasha was the eldest of three, but the only one in Ravenclaw. Her sister, Annie, was a third-year Gryffindor, and her brother Jack had just been sorted into Gryffindor during the Sorting ceremony.

Alice groaned, but smiled widely at her favourite cousin. "Don't, please, I've been trying to block that all out. You wouldn't believe the journey I had on the way over here!"

"I can take a guess at it," said Natasha grimly. "I did hear a few guys talking about you earlier, actually, and I wasn't pleased at all. Thomas, you'd better look after my little cousin this year!" The group laughed at her comment, and Thomas replied with "I'll make sure of it!"

At that moment, Alice noticed a badge gleaming on Natasha's shirt. "Thanks for telling me that you're our new Head Girl, Natasha! That's fantastic! Who's the Head Boy?"

Natasha grinned at her. "Thanks, but I didn't want to cause a fuss! Some Gryffindor boy, Richard or something. I've not really come across him much. Anyway, I better go check up on little Jack, make sure he's feeling alright. I'll catch up with you later." She gave Alice's shoulders a squeeze, and walked over to the Gryffindor table, to check up on her brother.

The rest of the feast passed in an uneventful blur, though Alice and her friends shared many more stories together. At the end of the feast, Dippett gave a few more words of welcome, and a reminder of the rules, and then sent them off to bed. As Joseph was a Prefect, he stayed behind to show the first-years to the common room with another of the Ravenclaw girls, and the rest of them walked up to Ravenclaw tower, laughing and talking the whole way.

After answering the eagle's question, they entered the common room, Alice bringing up the rear. As they crossed the room, all wanting to reach their dormitories and sleep, Alice tripped slightly over the rug, and a pair of hands grabbed her at the elbows. A deep voice – _probably the one who owned the hands_, Alice thought – told her, "Careful there, now. Don't want a bruise!"

Alice righted herself, and looked into a pair of dark blue eyes, in which blond locks fell into them. She blinked, and realised that her saviour was Robert McMillan. A quick glance over his shoulder showed her that her friends had all paused by the staircases, and they were watching the pair intently, with gleaming eyes and wide smiles. _Ohh dear_. Robert spoke again. "You're Alice Reed, aren't you? Natasha's cousin?"

Alice forced a smile. "Yes, that's me. Sorry for tripping, I'm not usually clumsy, I must be tired."

Robert smiled easily, his eyes dancing. "Let's hope it's not a habit of yours, then. I hope I won't have to keep saving you!" Alice moved around him, towards the stairs that would take her to the safety of the dormitory.

But not even the dormitory could keep her safe from her friends and their teasing.

"I didn't know being tired made you clumsy, Alice. Maybe you should go to be now," Christopher told her, his eyes gleaming.

"At least Robert was able to help you. Aren't you lucky?" Thomas added, suppressing a laugh.

"Stop it. I'm going to bed. Goodnight, you two," Alice replied stiffly, trying to tell them through her eyes to be quiet.

"I hope you won't be too tired in the morning!" Christopher called after her as she ran up the stairs. Belle and Maggie followed, their laughter ringing in the staircase.


	5. Chapter 4: A new day, a new worry

**Well hello to all of my lovely readers! I'm really really sorry for the long wait, but I can assure you that I didn't drop off the face of the earth during the long time! As I'm currently in my last year of high school, things have been pretty mad at the moment, what with the massive workload and the massive attention that we've been giving to universities! But yes, here's my new chapter. Hopefully, I can try to move the story along now to the more exciting bits of the story, but I hope you all enjoy this! I didn't get many reviews for my last chapter, and getting reviews really do mean the world to me, so please, if you enjoyed it, REVIEW! Or if you want to give constructive criticism, then I'd love them too :) thank you all!  
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter, my OC's are my own.**

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**Chapter 4**

"Hey Alice, if you want to trip in front of Robert again, then that's fine. Just let us know, and we'll help you trip up, if you want."

"We might need to plan it out though, to make sure it works properly and smoothly."

"Will you two stop that? It was a mistake yesterday. I didn't want to trip in front of him!"

The girls were in the Great Hall, eating breakfast, waiting for Flitwick to bring them their timetables. The boys were nowhere to be found, but Alice assumed that they'd shuffle into the Hall in a few minutes to grab their timetables and a piece of toast each, bleary-eyed and mumbling incoherently.

Unfortunately for her, Maggie and Belle still wouldn't stop teasing her over last night's accident, which had continued that morning from the previous night. Alice continued to eat her porridge as Maggie started creating scenarios for Alice to bump into Robert 'accidently'.

"You could bump into him by the lake, and then he'd ask you to go for a stroll around the lake, and you two would get to know each other better! Or you could -" she exclaimed, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Ah, Miss Reed, Miss Lovering, and Miss Wood. Welcome back to Hogwarts! I trust you all had a lovely holiday?" Flitwick had arrived, clutching a pile of blank parchments.

"Yes, thank you, Professor. Ready for another hard-working year!" replied Belle, smiling kindly at their Head of House.

"Good, that's what we like to hear! Right, I'll start with you, Miss Reed. Congratulations on your OWLs results, they were superb!"

"Thank you, Professor," said Alice, grinning widely. She'd passed all 9 of her subjects, with 7 Outstandings and 2 Exceeds Expectations, much to her delight and her nanny's.

"I hope your father was pleased?" Flitwick asked curiously.

"Yes, I think so." He'd given her a smile, and a hug that lasted two seconds, but that was the most enthusiastic form of life she'd received from her father for almost 7 years.

"Hm. Well, let's get cracking with the timetable. Which subjects do you wish to continue with?"

"Herbology, Charms – Household and General – Potions, Defence against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration." She ticked off all the subjects with her fingers.

"Very good choices indeed, dear." Flitwick drew his wand across the parchment and presented her with her new timetable. I'll just point out that the compulsory subject for girls this year is 'Proper Appearance', and in Defence Against the Dark Arts, there will be a mixed and separate class, and you will attend both." Although girls were considered to be beneath men, the Hogwarts tutors had rationalized that girls and boys could equally be attacked, and that the practical class should be mixed, to get experience of being attacked by men and women alike.

After Flitwick completed each of their timetables – all three girls were doing Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms together, whilst Belle was doing Herbology and Ancient Runes, and Maggie was taking History of Magic and Culinary Skills – they consulted their timetables together. Belle had a lesson of Ancient Runes in the morning, and then they would all have Household Charms together for their second lesson of the day. With only 15 minutes to go, Belle decided to head off to her lesson, and Alice and Maggie waited a little while longer. While they were chatting about being back at Hogwarts, the boys appeared, looking very tired. Alice smiled at the way they all yawned and shuffled their feet – apart from Thomas, she noticed, who walked straight to them the moment he spotted the two girls.

"Alice, let me see your timetable, quickly!" She handed her timetable to him, feeling slightly confused. He scanned through them and groaned.

"What is it, Thom?" Maggie asked him, her forehead scrunched worriedly. Joseph and Christopher quickly joined them, and read her timetable over Thomas' shoulder, and they also looked worried.

"We passed Riddle on the way here, and he was talking to his friends about which subjects he's taking. He's taking Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Ancient Runes."

Judging by the faces of all of her friends, this was some big, bad news, but Alice didn't see what the problem was. "Thomas, what's your point?"

"Well, as Maggie pointed out yesterday on the train, he had his eye on you on the platform. I don't trust him to be around you in the lessons, Al. You know, putting aside the fact that he was looking at you, he's a Slytherin. And everyone knows that there's something a little weird about him." He turned to Maggie. "Please tell me that you and Belle are taking the same subjects as her?"

"All three of us are taking Defence and Charms, and Belle's also taking Herbology, but she'll have Potions on her own; unless one of you guys are taking Potions?" Maggie asked, and all three of them shook their heads.

"Guys, please. Don't worry over it. I can deal with him myself if he does talk to me, and who's to say that he will? People from other houses rarely talk to each other, and there'll probably be a lot of students taking these subjects. There'll be plenty of people around if he wants to talk to any of them." Alice responded, smiling at them. She highly doubted she'd have anything to do with Tom Riddle this year – she hadn't come across him for the past 5 years, so why would she start it now?

Christopher relaxed a little. "You know, she's right. I highly doubt Alice will have anything to do with Riddle this year. Now, let's get our timetables before the bell goes." The three boys shuffled over to Flitwick, and after receiving their timetables, Joseph sped off to his first lesson of Arithmancy, and the rest of the four friends trailed back to their Common Room. Despite Alice's calm attitude towards her friends, Alice felt anticipation brewing in her stomach at the thought of facing Riddle. Would he say anything to her? Were her friends just being paranoid? And why was he showing the interest in her?


End file.
